And How to Avoid Them
Business travel has become more complex, more expensive, and more closely scrutinised than ever before. Yet many organisations are still managing travel in ways that made sense ten or even twenty years ago.
The result is unnecessary cost, frustrated travellers, increased risk, and very little visibility at the senior leadership level.
Drawing on over 20 years of corporate travel leadership experience, here are the five most common mistakes organisations make when booking business travel, and what they should be doing instead.
1. Treating Travel as a Transaction, Not a Programme
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is viewing travel as a simple booking activity rather than as an operational programme.
When travel is treated purely as a transaction, decisions are made in isolation, policies become reactive, suppliers effectively manage themselves, and leadership lacks meaningful oversight.
The fix:
Travel requires clear ownership, governance, and defined objectives, just like any other operational area of the business.
2. Assuming the TMC Is the Strategy
Travel Management Companies play an important operational role, but they are not a substitute for strategy.
Many organisations assume that outsourcing bookings automatically delivers optimisation, compliance, and control. In reality, TMCs execute strategy; they do not create it.
The fix:
Organisations need an independent strategic layer above the TMC to define direction, challenge assumptions, and ensure decisions align with broader business goals.
3. Optimising for Cost Alone
Focusing exclusively on the cheapest fares often creates hidden costs elsewhere.
Lower fares can lead to reduced productivity, higher traveller fatigue, increased disruption, and greater downstream expense that never appears in a travel report.
The fix:
An effective corporate travel strategy balances cost with productivity, traveller experience, risk management, and sustainability.
4. Overlooking Duty of Care Until Something Goes Wrong
Many organisations only discover gaps in their duty of care approach after a major disruption, incident, or traveller emergency.
At that point, processes are tested under pressure rather than designed intentionally.
The fix:
Duty of care should be designed proactively and aligned to recognised frameworks such as ISO 31030, ensuring clarity, consistency, and accountability before issues arise.
5. Leaving Value on the Table Through Poor Reward Management
Airline rewards and loyalty benefits are often treated as individual traveller perks rather than organisational assets.
Without structure, oversight, or strategy, significant financial value is lost.
The fix:
When managed strategically, airline rewards can deliver meaningful financial and operational value back to the organisation.
Final Thought
The best-performing organisations do not treat travel as an administrative task. They seek independent insight, apply strategic thinking, and manage business travel as a structured programme rather than a series of bookings.
Done well, corporate travel becomes a source of efficiency, resilience, and competitive advantage.
